The First Toll Roads: Ireland’s Turnpike Roads 1729-1858

This book shows why Ireland’s first toll roads, known as turnpike roads, came into existence. It traces the development of Ireland’s principal roads, the basis of our present arterial system, from the late medieval period. Originally based on the port of Dublin, the turnpike roads quickly spread to Cork, Limerick, Belfast and eventually the rest of the country except the northwest.